Holocene aggradation history of the Murcia alluvial valley: Insights into early Rome's paleoenvironmental evolution

Through the analysis of seven 15–30 m deep boreholes drilled in the western sector of the Circus Maximus we reconstruct the aggradational history of one main tributary valleys of the Tiber River in Rome, the Murcia Valley (Vallis Murcia). Consistent with recent acquisitions in the Tiber Valley, we identify a Bronze Age (4500-3000 yr BP) paleogeographic setting characterized by the lowering of the drainage network base level. This would have created a dry alluvial plain, suitable for human settlement. We also find evidence for dramatic overflooding which occurred during the 6th century BCE and was responsible for the rapid rise from 2 to 6 m a.s.l. of the valley floors within the Tiber catchment basin in Rome. We suggest that these paleogeographic features can be identified in mythical and ethno-historical accounts of early Rome.